Project and Workshop Objectives Life in the Atacama Workshop July 28, 2003 at 8:45 Nathalie Cabrol/David Wettergreen The Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Atacama Desert Northern Chile between the Pacific and the Andes Driest desert on Earth No measurable rain for centuries in some regions but Fog from the Pacific Runoff from the Andes Analogous to Mars Arid, High UV, Soil Oxidants Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Coastal Range Parallels the Pacific coast 10 - 40km Parallels the Pacific coast Camanchacas, coastal fog, penetrate inland Desiccation-tolerant organisms detected [Chong] Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Interior Desert Altiplano rises from Coastal Range (700m) to the Andes (4000m) Moisture blocked by Pacific high pressure and Andes No rain Dew possible in toward coast Most lifeless area on Earth? Possible absolute desert evidenced by the absence of biogenic organic molecules? Hubble Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Scientific Investigation The biodiversity and distribution of habitats in Atacama subregions are not yet measured. Where does life survive and where does it not? Coastal Range Interior Desert Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Science Objectives Seek Life Detect life unambiguously Characterize biota surviving in the Atacama Measure spatial variability of biodiversity Detect environmental boundary conditions of microorganic life Search for structural fossils Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Science Objectives Seek Life Understand Habitat Characterize the physical environment Examine current biological oases and microorganic communities Determine physical/environmental conditions of identified past and current habitats Measure spatial diversity and types of habitats for microorganic life Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Science Objectives Seek Life Understand Habitat Make Relevant Measurements Integrate and field-test instruments that form an appropriate science payload Make measurements that motivate the exploration of analogous environments for life on Mars Develop procedure for conducting instrument-guided robotic surveys Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Technology Objectives Navigate Over the Horizon Navigate beyond the robot field-of-view (>1km) Model the environment and detect obstacles at necessary scales Localize based on odometry, sun position, and local feature/global landmark tracking (but not artificial satellites) Register observations to orbital datasets and limit position error to 5% of distance traveled Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Technology Objectives Navigate Over the Horizon Use Resources Efficiently Enable onboard, resource-limited traverse planning and sequence execution to address: Power: Solar and battery power and overnight hibernation Communication: Cycles, delay, and data volume Science: Instrument use and sampling requests Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Technology Objectives Navigate Over the Horizon Use Resources Efficiently Advance Autonomy and Self-Awareness Establish variable rover autonomy and effective remote investigation (telescience) over low-bandwidth, long-latency communication links Develop rover self-awareness, monitoring hardware and software elements, for fault detection and recovery Achieve multi-day unattended operation and greater than 1 km traverse per command cycle Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Technology Objectives Navigate Over the Horizon Use Resources Efficiently Advance Autonomy and Self-Awareness Create Robotic Astrobiologist Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Robotic Astrobiologist Our concept of operations is that planetary astrobiology requires extensive mobility Tens of kilometers to measure biodiversity Long-distance mobility is the design driver for rover and software Autonomy is an implicit requirement in a resource- poor situation Factors motivating autonomy: Mission duration Operations costs Instrument placement and operation Command complexity Comm. bandwidth and data volume Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Robotic Geologist Great rover for a different mission Fine resolution investigation with precise deployment of multiple instruments Not broad survey and reconnaissance Autonomy minimized Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Expected Significance Objective Expected Significance Seek life Establish if the hyper arid region of the Atacama represents an absolute limit to life and understand the gradient of biodiversity and environments Understand Habitat Understand the strategies used by life to survive in arid environment following climate changes Relevant Science Design a payload capable of identifying environments for life and test science exploration strategies enabling the positive identification of life (extinct/extant). Navigate Over-the- Horizon Exhibit productivity of traverse (1km per command cycle) representing order of magnitude increase Use Resources Efficiently Enable planetary rovers to reason about resources and make on-the-fly decisions to optimize performance Autonomy and Self-awareness Engage planetary rovers in telescience, managing with minimal communication, while fully aware of themselves and their surroundings First robotic discovery of life? Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Workshop Objectives Meet the entire project team Review the current state of our research Analyze the first field investigation Plan the work of the coming year Formulate the second field investigation Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Workshop Philosophy Expect more questions than answers Make conclusions whenever possible Look for implications in available information Identify direction and priorities Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon

Workshop Agenda Life in the Atacama Carnegie Mellon